What appeared earlier like a break from a rugged schedule instead could prove to be a tough assignment for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they open a three-game road series against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
A pair of second-year right-handers — the Dodgers’ Gavin Stone (9-4, 3.34 ERA) and the Athletics’ Joey Estes (4-4, 4.92) — are scheduled to get the ball when the first-place team from the National League West visits the last-place club in the American League West.
Los Angeles heads north having played 27 consecutive games against playoff contenders. The Dodgers lost six of the nine series, going just 12-15 along the way.
And still to come is a three-game series against the NL’s best — the Philadelphia Phillies from Monday through Wednesday — to kick off another 26 straight against postseason hopefuls.
In Oakland, the Dodgers will see a club that has played like a contender since it tangled with the Phillies last month. Just 35-60 at the time, the A’s took two of three in that road series, outscoring the hosts 29-16, the first of five consecutive unbeaten series to spark a season-best 10-5 run.
Offense has powered Oakland’s surge. The A’s led the majors in home runs in July with 45 and ranked second to the Arizona Diamondbacks in runs with 148.
By contrast, the Dodgers were 11th in homers (34) and 19th in runs (104).
“The month was good,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “We played our best baseball of the year, and the results showed that. We’ve got a lot of confidence right now.”
Estes has never faced Dodgers, but the 22-year-old has been at his best at home, where he is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in five starts.
Stone, meanwhile, has dominated his interleague matchups in his career, going 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA. The 25-year-old, who has gone 6-3 with a 3.19 ERA on the road this season, has never faced the A’s.
The Dodgers swept a series against the A’s in Los Angeles last August, taking the three games by a combined 25-6.
They also won two of three in their last visit to Oakland in April 2021, with the loss coming in extra innings.
The upcoming series will cap an eight-game trip that has seen the Dodgers win just once in the first five. They were swept in two games by the San Diego Padres, ending with an 8-1 shellacking on Wednesday.
Los Angeles catcher Will Smith envisions things turning around quickly.
“It’s a long year. There’s going to be tough times; there’s going to be good times,” he said. “We’ll come out of it. No doubt about it. We’re the Dodgers. We’re the best team in baseball.”
